Organization of the Ti-pings.--Hung-sui-tshuen's
Manifesto.--Hung-sui-tshuen Emperor.--Proclamation of
Rank.--Ti-ping Titles.--Siege of Yung-gnan.--Ti-ping
Successes.--Their Moderation in Victory.--King Yang's
Proclamation.--Tien-Wang's Proclamation.--Cruelty of
Imperialists.--Cause of the Revolution.--Chinese History
Reviewed.--Corrupt Government.--Tartar Ride.--Manchoo Barbarity.
The Ti-ping Revolution, even during its earlier stages, when emerging
from the obscurity of mere local insurrection, was conducted in a very
systematic and organized manner.
Just four months after the first outbreak, and four months previous to
the capture of Yung-gnan, the Manchoo governor of the province
(Kwang-si), whose letter is translated and quoted by Consul Meadows,
wrote as follows:--
"Both Hung-sui-tshuen and Fung-yun-san are skilled in the use of
troops. Hung-sui-tshuen is a man of dangerous character, who
practises the ancient military arts. At first he conceals his
strength, then he puts it forth a little, then in a greater
degree, and lastly comes on in great force. He constantly has
two victories for one defeat, for he practises the tactics of
Sun-pin (an ancient Chinese warrior and celebrated tactician).
The other day I obtained a rebel book, describing the
organization of one army. It is the Sze-mar system of the Chow
dynasty. A division has its general of division; a regiment has
its colonel; an army consists of 13,270 men, being the strength
of an ancient army, with the addition of upwards of a hundred
men. * * *
"The rebels increase more and more; our troops--the more they
fight the more they fear. The rebels generally are powerful and
fierce, _and they cannot by any means be likened to a disorderly
crowd, their regulations and laws being rigorous and clear_."
Thus it appears that even before the rebellion attained a political
status, its organization was perfect, and that, too, within four months
of its commencement. In spite of the mass of trustworthy evidence on
this point, and the latterly improved constitution of the Ti-pings, some
persons have foolishly declared the Ti-pings possess no organization
whatever. The partisan spirit of such people carries them altogether
beyond their mark; for any one, _not totally ignorant of Chinese
character_, is perfectly well aware that for any body of Chinese to
exist without organization is impossible. We have only to look towards
Java, Australia, California, India, or wherever a body of Chinese may be
found separate, to see they are invariably organized. The colonies
formed in the above countries are all governed by chiefs of their own
electing. At Batavia and various other parts of Java, Borneo, &c., these
chiefs and their inferior officials, hold a recognized position in the
Dutch administration. From their very cradles precepts of order and
submission are so well engrafted and inculcated, that no nature is so
amenable to control as a Chinaman's.[4]
Hung-sui-tshuen, previous to the capture of Yung-gnan, issued the
following reply to the celebrated Commissioner Lin's summons to
surrender:--
"The Manchoos who, for two centuries, have been in hereditary
possession of the throne of China, are descended from an
insignificant nation of foreigners. By means of an army of
veteran soldiers well trained to warfare, they seized on our
treasures, our lands, and the government of our country, thereby
proving that the only thing requisite for usurping empire is the
fact of being the strongest. There is, therefore, no difference
between ourselves, who lay contributions on the villages we
take, and the agents sent from Pekin to collect taxes. Why,
then, without any motive, are troops dispatched against us? Such
a proceeding strikes us as a very unjust one. What! is it
possible that the Manchoos, who are foreigners, have a right to
receive the taxes of the captured provinces, and to name
officers who oppress the people, while we Chinese are prohibited
from taking a trifling amount at the public cost? Universal
sovereignty does not belong to any one particular individual, to
the exclusion of all the rest. And such a thing has never been
known, as one dynasty being able to trace a line of a hundred
generations of emperors. The right to govern consists in
possession."
In this manifesto the insurgents claim the throne, from the fact that,
being Chinese, to them by right it belonged.
This document, from which the above is an extract, proved such an
effective and injurious one to poor Commissioner Lin, that he never
rallied from the shock. Before dying, he memorialized his Emperor,
informing him the rebels professed Christianity, and derived their
origin from the hated "barbarians" (Europeans).
Hung-sui-tshuen effected the capture of the city of Yung-gnan by a very
extraordinary stratagem:--
"The insurgents advanced quickly to the walls, which are not
very high, and by throwing an immense quantity of lighted
fire-crackers into the town, the continued explosion of which
brought confusion among the soldiers within, and caused them to
retreat, they easily succeeded in scaling the walls and entering
the city."
Hung-sui-tshuen was no sooner proclaimed first emperor of the new
dynasty of Ti-ping (Extreme Peace), with the title of
Tien-teh-Ti-ping-Wang (Heavenly Virtue Extreme Peace King), than he
immediately issued his manifestoes in imperial style.
During the first two months, the framing of new regulations, electing of
officers, and bestowing rewards upon those who had previously
distinguished themselves, were attended to. Proclamations calling upon
the soldiers to fight bravely, and promising them reward, were issued,
in one of which the seventh commandment is rigorously enforced by the
following passage:--
"There shall assuredly be no forgiveness, and we expressly
enjoin upon the soldiers and officers not to show the least
leniency, or screen the offenders, lest we bring down upon
ourselves the indignation of the great God our Heavenly Father."
The following is the proclamation bestowing upon the five principal
leaders their rank and title:--
"Our Heavenly Father, the great God and supreme Lord, is one
true Spirit (God); besides our Heavenly Father, the great God
and supreme Lord, there is no Spirit (God). The great God, our
Heavenly Father and supreme Lord, is omniscient, omnipotent, and
omnipresent--the supreme over all. There is not an individual
who is not produced and nourished by him. He is Shang (Supreme).
He is the Te (Ruler). Besides the great God, our Heavenly Father
and supreme Lord, there is no one who can be called Shang, and
no one who can be called Te.
"Therefore, from henceforth all you soldiers and officers may
designate us as your lord, _and that is all_; you must not call
me supreme, _lest you should encroach upon the designation of
our Heavenly Father_. Our Heavenly Father is our Holy Father,
and our Celestial _Elder Brother_ is our Holy Lord, the Saviour
of the world. Hence our Heavenly Father and Celestial _Elder
Brother alone are holy_; and from henceforth all you soldiers
and officers may designate us as your lord, _and that is all;
but you must not call me holy, lest you encroach upon the
designation of our Heavenly Father and Celestial Elder Brother_.
The great God, our Heavenly Father and supreme Lord, is our
Spiritual Father, our Ghostly Father. Formerly we had ordered
you to designate the first and second ministers of state,
together with the generals-in-chief of the van and rear, royal
fathers, which was a temporary indulgence in conformity with the
corrupt customs of the present world; but, according to the true
doctrine, _this was a slight encroachment on the prerogative of
our Heavenly Father, for our Heavenly Father is alone entitled
to the designation of Father_. We have now appointed the chief
minister of state and general-in-chief to be designated the
Eastern King, having charge of all the states in the Eastern
region. We have also appointed the second minister of state and
assistant general-in-chief to be designated the Western King,
having charge of all the states in the Western region. We have
further appointed the general of the advanced guard to be
designated the Southern King, having charge of all the states in
the Southern region. And we have likewise appointed the general
of the rear guard to be designated the Northern King, having
charge of all the states in the Northern region. We have
furthermore appointed our brother Shih-tah-kae to be
assistant-king, to aid in sustaining our Celestial court. All
the kings above referred to are to be under the superintendence
of the Eastern king. We have also issued a proclamation
designating our Queen as the lady of all ladies (Empress), and
our concubines as royal ladies. Respect this!"
The above document was translated by Dr. Medhurst. All words commencing
with a capital letter are placed in the proclamation certain degrees
higher than the rest. All words used to denote the Almighty being
elevated _three_ spaces, those denoting the chiefs _one_ space.
By observing the passages in italics, it cannot fail to be understood
that the appellation "Elder Brother" has not the blasphemous tendency
some persons have imagined. Even had it, is that a reason why thousands
of Christians in error should be slaughtered by a cruel intervention?
Why, the very idea is monstrous! Yet some have been found who made the
term "Elder Brother" an excuse for exterminating the Ti-pings, instead
of doing their duty by teaching them better if necessary. There is
another and more important reason why, had Hung-sui-tshuen, or rather
the Tien-wang--as we shall for the future, in conformity with his title
amongst his followers, term him--literally called himself the brother of
our Saviour, Englishmen should be the last to throw stones at him; for
have they not their Unitarians, _who deny his divinity altogether_? Why,
then, do these war Christians go to China to defend the _name_ of the
Saviour, when here in England their zeal is more required. If people are
to be massacred for making a wrong use of the attributes of our Saviour
(when they do so through ignorance), then the slaughter should commence
at home, with those who have every opportunity of acquiring a more
correct knowledge. It would be as reasonable to suppose that
Hung-sui-tshuen arrogates to himself the attributes of God by his title
Tien-wang (Heavenly King), as that he considers himself the equal of
Jesus, and one of the Trinity, by his style of "Younger Brother."
His titles, Tien-wang, Younger Brother, &c., are no more to be literally
understood than any of the extravagant designations of the Manchoo
Emperor (Celestial Ruler, Monarch of the Universe, Brother of the Sun,
&c.), the Llama of Thibet, or any other Asiatic ruler; but is only the
usual Chinese metaphorical style of naming their princes, and setting
forth their dignity and high position. The Ti-pings are themselves the
very last to entertain any other idea; and often when I have questioned
them, they have ridiculed such an heathenish and absurd belief as that
their chief was more than mortal. Their replies have always been
essentially practical; such as--"He is but a man like themselves, though
a very great one." His prophecies, however, were believed to be
inspired; his divine commission to earthly sovereignty and propagation
of the Faith was likewise universally believed, though the blasphemies
attributed to him, and circulated by interested European maligners, are
without foundation. "Younger Brother" is the usual and touching Chinese
figurative style of expressing an affectionate and dependent situation.
The Tien-wang, when using it, simply expresses that relative position he
wishes his people to believe he occupies, as our Saviour's faithful
servant and disciple.
The Ti-pings, as we may now fairly call them, were allowed but short
respite in the city of Yung-gnan. A large army of Imperialists, under
the command of a celebrated Tartar general, Woo-lan-tae, invested the
city upon every side, reducing the besieged to fearful extremities;
till, at last, death by famine or the sword seemed their only fate.
During November, 1851, all their outposts had been driven in with great
loss, their spirits were damped, and the close of their existence seemed
near at hand.
At length, after enduring incredible sufferings from famine and
sickness, and a close siege of five months, during the night of the 7th
of April, 1852, the Ti-pings sallied out from the city in three
divisions, and after severe fighting, in which their losses were very
heavy, succeeded in cutting their way through the besiegers and marching
to the north-east, unfortunately leaving many of the sick and wounded
prisoners, all of whom were barbarously tortured and put to death.
Shortly after their escape from Yung-gnan, the Ti-pings laid siege to
the provincial capital, Kwei-lin, but being unprovided with guns or
sufficient powder to mine the walls, after a month spent before the
city, they raised the siege, and marched into the adjoining province of
Hoo-nan. At this time the total strength of the Ti-pings, men, women,
and children included, numbered less than ten thousand persons. After
capturing the city of Taou-chow, in the southern part of Hoo-nan, during
the next three months they pressed steadily northward, capturing many
cities on the way, and overthrowing all opposition. Early in September
they arrived before the capital city of the Hoo-nan province, Chang-sha,
and intrenching themselves, commenced a regular siege, which lasted more
than two months. Upon this important place all the Imperialist forces
were immediately concentrated, and the plains before the city became the
battle-ground of many severe actions, generally favourable to the
Ti-pings. During the months of September, October, and November, the
latter made several attempts to carry the city by assault, but were each
time severely repulsed by the garrison, who held out with determined
bravery. Upon the 29th of November, the last assault upon Chang-sha was
repulsed with heavy loss to the besiegers, and upon the following day
the siege was abandoned, and they moved off in a north-westerly
direction.
The next movement of the Ti-pings was attended with better fortune, for,
reaching the Tung-ting lake, they carried the city of Yoh-chow, which
was situated at the junction of the lake with the river Yang-tze-kiang,
by storm. Considerably enriched by the granaries and treasury of that
city, they changed their line of march and proceeded in a north-easterly
direction, down the course of the Yang-tze, conveyed by the large fleet
of junks and war-boats they had captured on the lake. Upon the 23rd of
December they reached the city of Han-yang, upon the north bank of the
river. Capturing this place with but slight opposition, they crossed to
the south side, and invested the vice-regal city Wu-chang-foo. After
mining the walls and making a practicable breach, upon the 12th of
January they assaulted and carried the city, the lieutenant-governor of
Hoo-nan falling in its defence, together with a large number of his
officers and troops. Collecting immense booty from these two cities and
the adjoining unwalled emporium, Han-kow, early in February, with a vast
fleet loaded with men and stores, they proceeded down the river. On the
18th, the large and important city of Kew-kiang, situated close to the
junction of the Poyang lake with the river, fell before their arms. The
city of Ngan-king, capital of the province of Ngan-Hwui, was captured on
the 25th. On the 4th of March Wu-hoo was taken, and on the 8th the
Ti-ping forces sat down before the walls of Nan-kin.
These successes of the insurgents were followed by the degradation of
all Imperialist leaders who should have prevented them. The court of
Pekin deprived the imperial commissioner Keshen of his rank of
Lieutenant-General of Tartar bannermen; Sae-shang-ah, the general of the
Imperialist troops in Hoo-nan, was sentenced to be decapitated; Sin, the
Viceroy of the two Kwang, was deprived of his vice-royalty and two-eyed
peacock's tail; while all their property was confiscated to the
government. Meanwhile the Ti-pings, by their moderation and success, by
their kindness, and protection of the country people who did not oppose
them;--by controlling their troops and followers from committing the
usual excesses and crimes--the scourges of war, even in civilized
countries; had obtained for themselves the goodwill and confidence of
the people in a very large degree. Reinforcements poured in from every
side; all those in local revolt, or in any way aggrieved by their
tyrannical authorities; all who were in any manner dissatisfied with the
foreign dynasty, or felt a spark of patriotism, flocked to the
Tien-wang's standard. And now, as the Bishop of Victoria has said,
before the ancient capital of the empire, a body of some 100,000 men,
bound together by one religious hope and by one political aim,--the
highest and most noble purposes of human ambition--those of civil and
religious liberty--were congregated; following implicitly the guidance
of a leader they believed sent by divine authority to expel their
foreign masters, and overthrow idolatry throughout the length and
breadth of the land. Marvellous and unparalleled beyond conception was
this rising-up of the people,--as a psychological phenomenon it stands
unrivalled in extent and magnitude in modern history. To behold leagued
together, not only the effeminate Chinese, but even their women,--wives
and daughters fighting by the side of their husbands and fathers,
inspired by one common hope and ardour--all animated by a great
religious and political object, for the attainment of which they had
suffered and fought many years,--is an event never before realized in
the history of China.
The Bishop of Victoria thus writes of them:--
"Throughout their long line of march, for 1,500 miles, over
fertile and populous districts, plunders, murder, and rape, the
usual attendant curses of Asiatic warfare, were denounced and
punished by death. With more than Puritanical strictness, they
waged an internecine war with the most dearly cherished sensual
habits of their countrymen. The ten moral rules of the Decalogue
were enforced, _and a stricter interpretation attached to its
terms_. Amorous glances, libidinous songs, and all the common
incentives to profligacy, were prohibited and abandoned. The
drinking of wine, the smoking of tobacco, gambling, lying,
swearing, and, above all, _indulgence in the fumes of opium_,
were denounced and abolished with a moral determination which
permitted no half measures."
During the triumphant march of the Ti-pings from the city of Yung-gnan,
many proclamations were issued by the Tien-wang and his chiefs, to
justify their rebellion and inform the people. The earliest and most
important was the following, issued by Yang, the Eastern King:--
"We hereby promulgate our explicit orders in every place, and
say, Oh, you multitudes! listen to our words. We conceive that
the empire belongs to the Chinese, and not to the Tartars; the
food and raiment found therein belong to the Chinese, and not to
the Tartars; the men and women inhabiting this region are
subjects and children of the Chinese, and not of the Tartars.
But, alas! ever since the Ming dynasty lost its influence, the
Manchoos availed themselves of the opportunity to throw China
into confusion, and deprive the Chinese of their empire; they
also robbed them of their food and clothing, as well as
oppressed their sons and ravished their daughters; and the
Chinese, notwithstanding they possessed such an extensive
territory and multitudinous subjects, allowed the Tartars to do
as they pleased without making the least objection. Can the
Chinese still deem themselves men? Ever since the Manchoos have
spread their poisonous influence through China, the flame of
oppression has risen up to heaven, and the vapour of corruption
has defiled the celestial throne, the offensive odour has spread
over the four seas, and the demoniacal influence has distressed
surrounding regions; while the Chinese, with bowed heads and
dejected spirits, willingly became the servants of others. How
strange it is that there are no _men_ in China! China is the
head, Tartary is the feet; China is the land of spirits, Tartary
the land of demons. Why may China be deemed the land of spirits?
Because the true Spirit, the great God, our heavenly Father,
made heaven and earth, the land and the sea (and the Chinese
honour him); therefore from of old China has been termed the
land of spirits. Why are the Tartars to be considered demons?
Because the devilish serpent, the king of Hades, is a corrupt
demon, and the Tartars have been in the habit of worshipping
him; therefore may the Tartars be considered demons. But, alas!
the feet have assumed the place of the head, and demons have
usurped the land of spirits; while they have constrained our
Chinese people to become demons like themselves.[5] If all the
bamboos of the southern hills were to be used as pens, they
would not be enough to detail the obscenities of these Tartars;
and if all the waves of the Eastern sea were to be employed,
they would not be sufficient to wash away their sins, which
reach to heaven. We will merely enumerate a few general
circumstances that are known to all men. The Chinese have a form
peculiarly their own; but these Manchoos have commanded them to
shave the hair round their heads,[6] and wear a long tail
behind, thus causing the Chinese to assume the appearance of
brute animals. The Chinese have a dress peculiar to themselves,
but these Manchoos have caused them to wear knobs on their caps,
with Tartar clothes and monkey caps,[7] while they discard the
robes and head-dress of former dynasties, thus causing the
Chinese to forget their origin. The Chinese have their own laws
and regulations; but the Manchoos have manufactured devilish
enactments, so that our Chinese people cannot escape the meshes
of their net,[8] nor can they tell how to dispose of their hands
and feet, by which means our young men are brought entirely
under their control. The Chinese have their own language; but
the Manchoos have introduced the slang of the capital, and
interfered with Chinese expressions, designing thus to seduce
the Chinese by their Tartar brogue. Whenever drought and
inundations occur, the government manifests no compassion; but
quietly sees our people scattered abroad or dying of hunger,
until the bleached bones are as thick as jungle, by which the
country is depopulated. The Manchoos also have allowed corrupt
magistrates and covetous officers to spread themselves over
China, flaying the skin and devouring the fat of our people,
until both men and women meet and lament by the roadside to see
our fellow subjects reduced to want and poverty. Offices are to
be obtained by bribes, crimes are to be bought off with money,
rich fellows engross all authority, while heroes are filled with
despair, by which means all the noble spirits in the empire are
overwhelmed with despair, and die. Should any, animated with a
patriotic feeling, seek to revive China from its ruins, they are
accused of fostering rebellion, and their whole race
exterminated, by which means all heroic ardour is repressed in
China. But the ways in which the Manchoos have deluded China,
and abused it, are too numerous to detail, for they are cunning
and artful in the extreme.... These Tartars, forgetting the
meanness and obscurity of their origin, and taking advantage of
Woo-san-kwei's introduction, have usurped dominion in China,
where they have carried their villanies to the utmost. Let us
for a moment look into the origin of these Manchoo Tartars.
Their first ancestor was a cross-breed between a white fox and a
red dog, from whom sprang this race of imps that have since
increased abundantly. They contract marriages without ceremony,
and pay no regard to the relations of life or the rules of
civilized society. At a time when China was destitute of heroes,
they seized upon the government of the country; the wild fox
thus ascended the imperial throne, and these unwashed monkeys,
having put off their caps, rushed into the royal court, while
our Chinese people, instead of ploughing up their holes and
digging down their dens, have allowed themselves to be taken in
their devices, to be insulted over by them, and to obey their
command; and what is worse, our civil and military officers,
coveting the gains of office, have bowed down in the midst of
these herds of dogs and foxes. A child three feet high is
generally esteemed very ignorant; but if you were to tell him to
make obeisance to a parcel of dogs and swine, he would redden
with indignation. And what are these Tartars but dogs and swine?
Some of you have read books and are acquainted with history: and
do you not feel in the slightest degree ashamed? Formerly
Wan-theen-seang[9] and Sea-fang-teh[10] swore that they would
rather die than serve the Mongols. Sze-ko-fah[11] and
Ken-shih-see[12] swore that they would rather die than serve the
Manchoos. These facts must be familiar to you all. According to
our calculations, the Manchoos cannot be above a hundred
thousand, and we Chinese amount to more than fifty millions; but
for fifty millions to be ruled over by a hundred thousand is
disgraceful. Now, happily, a retributive Providence being about
to restore the country to its rightful owners, and China having
some prospect of a revival, men's minds being bent on good
government, it is evident that the Tartars have not long to
rule. Their three times seven, or 210 years' lease, is about to
expire, and the extraordinary personage of the five times nine
has already appeared.[13] The iniquities of the Tartars are
full; high heaven has manifested its indignation, and commanded
our celestial king sternly to display his heavenly majesty and
erect the standard of righteousness, sweeping away the
demoniacal brood, and perfectly cleansing our flowery land."
After exhorting the Chinese to join the rebel forces, the proclamation
concludes thus:--
"You, our countrymen, have been aggrieved by the oppressions of
the Manchoos long enough: if you do not change your politics,
and with united strength and courage sweep away every remnant of
these Tartars, how can you answer it to God in the highest
heavens? We have now set in motion our righteous army, above to
revenge the insult offered to God in deceiving Heaven, and below
to deliver China from its inverted position, thus sternly
sweeping away every vestige of Tartar influence and unitedly
enjoying the happiness of the Ti-ping dynasty."
In contemplation of making an immediate attack upon Nankin, during the
march towards that city the following proclamation was issued by the
Tien-wang:--
"Hung, Captain-General of the army, having entire
superintendence of military affairs, and aiding in the
advancement of the Ti-ping, or Great Pacificating Dynasty, in
obedience to the will of Heaven, issues this important and
triumphant proclamation, to announce that he has punished the
oppressors and saved the people.
"It appears that, throughout the empire, rapacious officers are
worse than violent robbers, and the corrupt mandarins of the
public offices are no better than wolves and tigers, all
originating in the vicious and sottish monarch at the head of
affairs, who drives honest people to a distance, and admits to
his presence the most worthless of mankind, selling offices, and
disposing of preferments, while he represses men of virtuous
talent, so that the spirit of avarice is daily inflamed, and
high and low are contending together for gain; the rich and the
great are abandoned to vice without control, whilst the poor and
miserable have none to redress their wrongs, the very recital of
which exasperates one's feelings, and makes one's hair to stand
on end. To refer to the case of the land revenue in particular,
it appears that of late the exactions have been increased
manyfold, while the taxes due up to the thirtieth year of the
last king's reign were at one time said to be remitted, and then
again exacted, until the resources of the people are exhausted,
and their miseries grown to excess. When our benevolent men and
virtuous scholars contemplate these things, their minds are
deeply wounded, and they cannot restrain themselves from rooting
out these plundering officers and wolfish mandarins of each
prefecture and district, in order to save the people from the
flames and floods in which they are now involved. At the present
moment our grand army is assembled like clouds; the province of
Kouang-se has been settled, and Chang-sha (the capital of
Hoonan) tranquillized; and being now about to proceed towards
the region of Keang-see (Keang-nan? that is, the province of
which Nankin is capital), we deem it necessary to announce to
the people that they need not be alarmed; while agriculturists,
mechanics, merchants, and traders, may each peacefully pursue
their occupations. It is necessary, however, that the rich
should have in readiness stores of provisions to aid in the
sustenance of our troops; let each clearly report the amount of
his contributions to this object, and we will furnish him with
receipts, as security that hereafter the money shall be all
repaid. Should there be any bold and strong men, or wise
councillors among you, let them with one heart and effort aid us
in our great design, and, when tranquillity is restored, we will
have them promoted and rewarded according to their merit. All
the officers of prefectures and districts who resist us shall be
beheaded; but those who are ready to comply with our
requisitions must forthwith send unto us their seals of office,
and then they may retire to their native villages. With regard
to the rabble of wolfish policemen, we shall, as soon as we
succeed, hang up their heads as a warning to all. Being now
apprehensive lest local _banditti_ should take occasion from our
movements to breed disturbances, we wish you people clearly to
report the same, and we will immediately exterminate them. If
any of the villagers or citizens dare to assist the marauding
mandarins in their tyranny, and resist our troops and adherents,
no matter whether they reside in great or small places, we will
sweep them from the face of the earth. Be careful. Do not
oppose.
"A special proclamation."
Another proclamation was issued on the march by the Eastern Prince:--
"Yang-sui-tsing, especially appointed General of the Grand Army
engaged in sweeping away the Tartars and establishing the new
dynasty, issues this second proclamation:--
"I, the General, in obedience to the royal commands, have put in
motion the troops for the punishment of the oppressor, and in
every place to which I have come, the enemy at the first report
have dispersed like scattered rubbish. As soon as a city has
been captured, I have put to death the rapacious mandarins and
corrupt magistrates therein, _but have not injured a single
individual of the people_, so that all of you may take care of
your families and attend to your business without alarm and
trepidation. I have already issued proclamations to this effect,
with which I presume you are acquainted. I have heard, however,
that throughout the villages there are numbers of lawless
vagabonds, who, previous to the arrival of our troops, take
advantage of the disturbed state of the country to defile men's
wives and daughters, and burn or plunder the property of honest
people. I, the General, have already apprehended some of these,
and decapitated about a score of them; now, because their
localities are somewhat removed from the provincial capital
(Ngan-king), these persons flatter themselves that I, the
General, am not aware of their proceedings, _which are very much
to be detested_. I have, therefore, sent a great officer, named
Yuen, as a special messenger, with some hundreds of soldiers, to
go through the villages, and, as soon as he finds these
vagabonds, he is commissioned forthwith to decapitate them,
while the honest inhabitants have nothing more to do than to
stick up the word 'Shun' (obedient) over their doors, and then
they have nothing to fear.
"A special proclamation."
While the number and moral power of the Ti-pings increased together,
those of the Imperialists as rapidly declined; their extortion and
cruelty driving numbers of the people to the ranks of the insurgents.
Captain Fishbourne, (Impressions of China, p. 83,) has observed:--
"We know that the authorities at Canton were taking heads off by
forties and sixties a day, and the Viceroy admitted that he had
taken off three hundred in one day. I visited the
execution-ground, and saw pools of blood from recent executions,
and the heads were piled up in old bottle-racks. If these were
the numbers for two or three provinces, what must those have
been for the other provinces in addition? And yet, as the march
of the insurgents was so triumphant, _these all could not
possibly be the heads of insurgents, or even people remotely
connected with the movement_. It is much more probable that they
were the heads of _helpless and unoffending people_, that were
taken off to satisfy the Emperor that Lin, the Viceroy, was
making some progress against the insurgents."
These horrible atrocities of the Manchoo rulers were continued for
years, and every province the Ti-pings had visited became drenched with
the blood of innocent victims. Not only were the entire relatives of any
man who had joined the rebellion slaughtered, but many thousands even
upon mere suspicion. Do we not remember the brutal Commissioner Yeh's
boast, that he had decapitated upwards of 70,000 rebels in one month, in
the province of Kwang-tung alone? And these were peaceful villagers
dragged from their homes without any crime on their part (for at that
time the Ti-pings were far away), and without even knowing what had
become of the relative for whose fault they suffered. This being only
the slaughter effected by one mandarin, what must have been the enormous
number massacred in cold blood by the numerous button, feather, and
tail-dignified Manchoo butchers, sent to perpetrate their horrid revenge
upon the helpless women and relatives of the men they have never been
able to withstand in fair fight, and would never have been able to
resist, even in their walled cities, but for the foreign assistance they
received.
Almost the first point to be considered with regard to the Ti-ping
revolution is its cause, and whether the cause justified rebellion. But
few persons have ever denied the existence of ample grounds for the
Chinese to rebel against the Manchoo dynasty; their bloodthirsty,
murderous rule, their gross tyranny and corruption, their unrighteous
usurpation and possession of the Chinese throne, being pretty generally
acknowledged. I am no advocate of revolutionary principles or outbreaks
against constituted authority, but we must always distinguish between
the laws of a country and the unrighteous decrees of a tyrant usurper.
Moreover, the progress of liberty and right has always been maintained
through collisions with oppressive ruling powers; and the great leaders
of the people may be the rebels of to-day, and yet should the morrow
crown them with success, they may become the heroes and patriots of the
age.
The state of China previous to the Ti-ping rebellion was deplorable in
the extreme: the grinding oppression of nearly two centuries had
apparently obliterated all that was good and noble in the land, and the
debasing influence of the Manchoo invaders seemed likely to consummate
the entire destruction of the moral, social, and political condition of
the Chinese. To form a proper judgment upon the state of affairs, it is
necessary to review Chinese history from the period of the Manchoo
invasion.
The last Emperor of the last Chinese dynasty--the Ming--was driven to
commit suicide through the success of an insurrection of the people,
caused by his misrule, A.D. 1643. Upon the death of the Emperor, the
insurgent chief met with universal submission, both at Pekin and in the
provinces, and proclaimed himself Emperor. Woo-san-kwei, however, the
general of an army employed in resisting an attack of the Manchoos,
refused to acknowledge him. The newly made Emperor immediately set out
for the city held by Woo, carrying with him from Pekin the latter's
father in chains. The usurper having put him to death, to revenge that
of his father, as well as that of the late Emperor, Woo-san-kwei made
peace with the Manchoos and, calling them in to his assistance, soon
defeated the would-be Emperor. When, however, the Tartar king found
himself in Pekin, he instantly seized upon the sovereignty, and no
effort of the Chinese was able to drive him from the throne, or defeat
his hardy and veteran troops. Dying almost immediately after this
acquisition, he appointed his son Shun-chy as his successor, A.D. 1644;
and so commenced the Manchoo Tartar dynasty, the seventh emperor of
which is now reigning. A great portion of the South held out against the
foreign government for many years, especially the maritime province of
Fo-keen. In Kwang-tung and Kwang-si provinces, the Manchoos were often
severely defeated by the natives, who, to the present day, hate them
with intensity, and it was not till A.D. 1654 that these provinces were
subdued. In many other parts the Chinese still struggled gallantly
against the invader; but dissensions amongst themselves, and a general
want of combination, proved fatal to their cause. But for this singular
want of accord it is probable the Manchoos would soon have been driven
back to their native wilds.
A.D. 1669, with the exception of Fo-keen province, the islands of the
coast, and mere local opposition, the whole empire was subjugated by the
Manchoos. To maintain their power, all the principal cities were
garrisoned by Tartar troops of the Eight Banners (a regulation still
observed), and these being constantly drilled and kept in a good state
of efficiency, together with the main body stationed at Pekin, have
succeeded in suppressing the patriotic efforts of the Chinese. At last,
in 1674, Wu-san-kwei attempted to remedy his error of calling in the
Manchoos, by raising the National standard and declaring against them.
The southern provinces, and especially Kwang-tung and Kwang-si,
constituted the area of the struggle. Wu-san-kwei dying soon after the
outbreak, the national party were unable to find a single person
competent to replace him, and although for nine years they successfully
resisted the power of the Manchoos, after a long struggle without any
combined action, they were compelled to submit. During the general
dispersion of the patriots, the last of the Ming princes fled to the
kingdom of Pegu for safety, but being delivered up to the Manchoos, was
by them put to death; he was the last of his race, for man, woman, and
child, every scion of the Ming, had been ruthlessly slaughtered. This
was the last national effort of sufficient strength to endanger the
power of the foreign dynasty, although to the present day many thousands
of Chinese exist among the fastnesses of the mountainous regions of
Kwang-si, Kwei-chow, Yun-nan, and Sze-chuan, who have never been
subdued, or submitted to the badge of slavery--the tonsure--imposed upon
their countrymen by the Tartars. Many of these having fled to the
aboriginal independent tribes, have been included in the general term
Miau-tze, and in Kwang-si alone they number upwards of 400,000 persons.
Besides these, secret societies were formed, whose members were sworn to
attempt the subversion of the Manchoo dynasty; but none have been able,
hitherto, to carry out their designs; not even the celebrated "Triad
Society," at present existing, or the equally extensive one, "The
Association of Heaven and Earth."
Upon the defeat of Wu-san-kwei's movement, the slaughter of the Chinese
was immense, the province of Kwang-tung was nearly depopulated, upwards
of 700,000 of its inhabitants having been executed within a month. This
is vengefully remembered by the Cantonese even yet. Many thousands of
Chinese families left their country in the course of the struggle, and
not less than 100,000 are stated to have emigrated to Formosa, where
they resisted the Manchoos till the year 1683.
To completely destroy the patriotic element, the Manchoos compelled the
conquered Chinese to shave the thick tresses they had been accustomed to
wear as a cherished ornament from the most ancient times, and to wear a
tail, and in other respects to adopt the Tartar style of dress upon pain
of decapitation. Many thousands are stated to have preferred death to
this national degradation: an alteration of national costume is of all
others the most open and crushing work of conquest; and in China it
undoubtedly had the effect of breaking the spirit of the people--all who
would not suffer thus, losing their heads. The ancient Chinese costume
is now resumed by the Ti-pings, but previous to their outbreak was
confined to the Miau-tze and refugees, and to a very exact
representation upon the stage of the Chinese theatre.
So prompt and merciless have been the punishments inflicted by the
Manchoo government, upon the slightest suspicion of rebellion, that,
until the Ti-ping insurrection, they have successfully extinguished
every outburst of national hatred. In 1756, during the reign of
Kien-loong, fourth emperor of the Manchoo dynasty, a great rising
amongst the Miau-tze, and descendants of the refugees, occurred; but,
after several years' war with no material advantage upon either side,
they relinquished their aggressive movement and contented themselves
with their independent position. In 1806, a great combination amongst
the hardy inhabitants of the southern sea-board--the provinces of
Fo-keen and Kwang-tung--took place; a large fleet of more than 600
Ti-mungs (sea-going war junks, generally carrying about twelve guns) was
organized, and for some years waged a successful war against the
Manchoos, at one time seriously threatening the dominion of the latter.
At last the usual cause of failure to all former and future national
efforts--internal dissension--proved fatal to their cause. The two
principal commanders having disagreed, led their respective divisions to
a bloody combat. The Manchoo government now, with their usual policy of
treacherous conciliation where they cannot conquer, commenced intriguing
with the weaker of the two divisions, and eventually induced it to
accept a general amnesty to such as would submit and return to their
allegiance, at the same time rewarding the leaders with bribes of rank
and riches. The insurgents who had submitted were then allied to the
Tartar forces, and employed by the crafty government against their
former comrades, who in a short time were compelled to surrender and
accept the proffered amnesty. And now, throughout the land, the
treacherous ferocity of the Manchoos ran riot. Hundreds of the deceived
patriots were distributed over the numerous execution grounds, and, fed
by the perfidious diplomacy of the government, the sword of the
executioner terminated an association that at one time promised the
liberation of the country.
This great naval rebellion was not the only endeavour made by the
Chinese to break the foreign yoke. During the reign of Kea-king, the
fifth Manchoo emperor, many formidable revolts had taken place, but
again the want of unity proved fatal to their success. In 1813, the
dissatisfied Chinese endeavoured to finish the Manchoo dynasty by
assassination, many members of the insurrection having sacrificed
themselves in the attempt. At the termination of Kea-king's reign, in
the year 1820, all extensive rebellion had been suppressed. The reign of
his successor, Taou-kuang, was, however, marked by more revolt and
insurrection than had been known since the time of the first Manchoo
usurper. In 1832, a great rising took place among the Miau-tze, whose
leader accepted the designation of "Golden Dragon," assumed the yellow
(Imperial) dress, and announced his intention to overthrow the foreign
dynasty and establish a native one. This rebellion had a wide-spread,
though secret organization, but the outbreak not being simultaneous, the
partisans in distant provinces were all cut off in detail; while the
rising in Formosa failed owing to the dissension of its leaders. After
successfully resisting the Manchoo troops, and several times defeating
them with immense slaughter, the want of unanimity and simultaneous
rising upon the part of the confederates induced the main body of
insurgents to make favourable terms with the government, and retire
unimpeded to their independent regions.
Slowly, but surely of late, the Chinese nation has been recovering from
the crushed and subdued condition to which the sanguinary invasion and
iron despotism of the Manchoos had reduced it. Gradually, as returning
vitality and patriotism increased, opposition to the oppressor
multiplied and became more formidable and portentous. As the Chinese
have gained strength, so their masters have lost it; the power and
resources of the latter have long become overgrown and exhausted, and
nothing but the broken-spirited and abject state of slavery they had
reduced the nation to could have prevented their expulsion long since.
At length, during the reign of the last emperor, the national feeling
could no longer be controlled, and in the year 1850 the great Ti-ping
rebellion burst forth--so marvellous in every phase of its commencement,
organization, and progress, that ere now, but for the unjustifiable
meddling of England, it would have resulted, not only in the subversion
of the Manchoo dynasty, but, in all human probability, the establishment
of Christianity throughout the limits of the immense Chinese empire. Sir
John F. Davis has observed:--"Distinctions sufficiently broad are still
maintained to prevent the amalgamation of the original people with their
masters;" these, combined with the intense hatred caused by the horrible
cruelties inflicted upon the people during the troublous times of famine
and disturbance preceding the Ti-ping rebellion, undoubtedly tended to
promote the success of the latter, and alienate the best disposed from
the Manchoos. During the years 1838-41, many parts of the empire became
plunged in misery and want;--so severe was the famine, that many
thousands perished, while multitudes were driven to insurrection. The
government, in order to quell the natural results of the distress,
resorted to the most barbarous measures; it has even been stated by the
Roman Catholic missionaries who were on the spot,--"that after suffering
severe torture, many of the people were burnt alive!" The war with Great
Britain, in 1841, added to the miseries of the Chinese, for the Manchoo
government, the weaker they became, were the more savage and ruthless in
suppressing every indication of disaffection.
Mr. Tarrantt, editor of the _Friend of China_, and a resident in China
for a quarter of a century, in 1861 wrote thus:--
"THE WICKED AND CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OF CHINA.
"So little is known of the machinery of Chinese government that
ignorance of it is the best, if not the only excuse for the
countenance given by Western nations to the Manchoo dynasty.
Conservative as we are in political principle, largely imbued
with a feeling of veneration for what is ancient, if at the same
time honour deserving, and desiring above all things peace on
earth and goodwill amongst mankind, the repugnance which we
entertain towards the Pekin government, and sympathy with those
in arms against it,[14] has been solely produced by long
observation of the thorough worthlessness of the rulers, and the
impossibility for them to become better. We old-fashioned
moralists of the West, in our ideas of the uses of a government,
give some consideration to the feelings of the mass; and no
officer may fatten himself with impunity on the public purse,
unless he give some show of service for the public weal. Here in
China, on the contrary, extortion by officials is an
institution; it is the condition on which they take office; and
it is only when the bleeder is a bungler that the government,
aroused by the victims' cries and riotings, step in to check the
depletion. Are our readers aware of the smallness of the
established salaries of provincial officers--of the two Kwang,
to wit? Can they believe that the Viceroy, ruling over a country
twice the size of England, is allowed as his _legal_ salary the
paltry sum of £60--say $25 a month--not even the pay of four of
his chair-bearers and an ostler? How does he live, then? will be
the question. The answer is, by extortion, by selling justice.
Fees of office would be the most polite term, perhaps, to apply
to the thing, the average sum total of these per annum being
£8,333.
"The system adopted throughout the empire is this:--You, the son
of Dick, Tom, or Harry, get your qualification as a scholar,
bring it to me at Pekin, fee the chancellerie, and then you
shall have a post. Directly you have that, squeeze away right
and left, and when you have enough to buy a higher post, you
know where to come for it. As we said some years ago, when
writing on the subject, 'it flourishes on its own rottenness,'
the chances which high and low alike possess of fattening on the
public vitals being the greatest support the Manchoo dynasty
possess. Next to the Viceroy, or governor-general, is the
governor, whose salary is £50, increased with _fees_ averaging
£4,333 a year. Each of these officials possess power of life and
death without reference to the government.... The creature
who--mayhap before he got into office, neglected by all his
relations--luxuriated on a miserable dole of rice and greens,
and would no more think of paying a couple of mace[15] to
chair-coolies to carry him, than he would think of flying, from
the day he receives his diploma cannot walk a hundred paces on
common earth if he were paid to do it. He rises with the sun
from the couch of his speedily increased harem, either to
receive the morning call of some other 'useless,' or to be borne
in his chair, followed by pipe-bearer and card-deliverer, to
make a round of calls on brother officials of similar
uselessness. How is the work of the Mandarinate performed? we
hear some say. Performed? By underlings who hold the entrée by
the back stairs, and _sell_ justice or service to each suitor
according as he can pay for it.... And these are the _things_
who govern the empire."
During the month of July, 1863, issues of the same newspaper--then
established at Shanghae--contained the following statements; and
statements that no person with the slightest knowledge of the position
and history of China can deny:--
"Our local readers must be as able as ourselves to form an
opinion on passing events; and hardly one of us, we think, but
must be satisfied that we are on the eve of a crisis in the
affairs of the great nation on whose borders we dwell. Let us
take a hasty glance at the position. A little over two hundred
years ago, the Manchoos, under an ancestor of the present
incumbent of the throne, overran the country. The cruelties
which these savages perpetrated were of the most horrid
description--in Kwang-tung alone over seven hundred thousand
people--man, woman, and child--being massacred within a month.
"The Chinese, prior to this inroad, were a rich people, the
houses of the better classes being buildings of convenient
formation and durability. There is not much apparent wealth
among the Chinese now, any sign of it being a temptation to
government officers to extort from the holders. From the day
these Tartars came into the country, China has been steadily
deteriorating, and now the people may best be likened to herds
of grovelling swine, living merely for the day, stultified in
intellect by the most degrading superstition. Under the
Manchoos, in fact, China exhibits to the world the saddest of
all spectacles--the spectacle of a people unable to raise
themselves in the social scale, to attain the full stature of
man. To keep themselves on the throne, the Manchoos determined
on three courses:--
"_First._ To make every Chinese shave the front of his head, and
wear a tail. Those who would not do this were deemed rebels, and
decapitated.
"_Second._ They declared it treason in all those who met
secretly.
"_Third._ They vested all elevation to civil office in the
sovereign himself, at Pekin, making the language of the court
the official medium, and guarding against local faction by
permitting no one to hold office in the district in which he was
born. Every civil officer of the Manchoo government, in short,
is a stranger to the people he rules over; he knows none of the
ties of friendship for his flock. And, further to widen the
breach between ruler and ruled, the sovereign allows his
officers little or no salary; but, in its place and stead,
sanctions--directs--as full a bleeding of the people's purses as
said people can bear without open revolt.
"And these three courses have been as effectual as could be
possibly anticipated.
"It was a long while before the Manchoos succeeded in the
head-shaving and tail arrangements, especially about Shou-shing,
in Che-kiang, and down south, in Kwang-se, where there are
people (Miau-tze) who have never submitted to the badge.
"The secret meeting interdict, again, has met but small favour,
and it was only last week that the Chinese newspaper, published
at the N. C. Herald Office here, had a notice in it of the
apprehension, by the Manchoos, of Messrs. Quan, Wan, and others,
_within the British concession_, ostensibly because they were in
league with the Soo-chow rebels, but really because they are
leading men of the San-hoh-hwae (Triad Society, sworn to put
down the Manchoos).
"The office-granting scheme has met the greatest success. The
ambition of every petty farmer in the country is to train a son
who is clever at his books, and, aided by his richer clansmen
with the means to travel to the capital, has a chance of
becoming one of the country's grandees; and, by a far-seeing
device, the emperor grants antecedent honours; so that if a son
is honoured, the father is honoured--that is to say, if a
Chinese, by merit and skill, succeeds in raising himself to a
mandarinate of the highest class, becomes, to speak
equivalently, an earl or a duke, the father of that fortunate
grandee, although performing on the homestead the functions of a
cow-herd, becomes ennobled also; the honours, in short, are
retrospective from the son to the father, not forward,
hereditarily, from the father to the son.
"And it has been by these means that the system of Tartar rule
has become to be liked by the people. They overlook the
villanous extortions which the sons have to practise on the
people to elevate themselves. They are blind to all, and simply
determine that the end justifies the means. There is a general
fling around of stolen sugar-plums, he being happiest who, in
the scramble, gets the largest handful."
The enormous multitude of victims slaughtered during the progress and
maintenance of the Manchoo dynasty will never be known by Europeans;
though--judging by all authentic records of their invasion of China, its
constant rebellions against their authority, and the murderous rule they
have exercised--the destruction of life considerably outnumbered the
hosts sacrificed in the track of the greatest destroyers of the human
species upon record, from Alexander the Great to Genghis-Khan. The
barbarity of the Manchoo rule is unparalleled in ancient or modern
history; while the fiendish nature of their punishments by
torture--especially those for treason--and the records of the "board of
punishments," instituted by them, constitute the blackest spot in the
annals of mankind.
Upon the character of the last great rising of the Chinese against their
oppressors, the Ti-ping rebellion, the Bishop of Victoria, in 1854,
wrote:--
"The finger of Divine Providence appears to us signally
conspicuous in this revolution. The moral, social, and political
condition of China was almost hopelessly wretched and debased.
Its whole system of government, of society, and religion, was to
be broken up, remodelled, reconstructed, and renewed. In looking
about for an agency available for such an end, the mind was
depressed and perplexed. The government was corrupt, the
scholars were feeble and inert, the gentry were servile and
timid, the lower classes were engrossed in the struggle for
subsistence, the whole nation seemed bound hand and foot, with
their moral energies paralyzed, their intellectual faculties
stunted, and their civil liberties crushed beneath the iron
gripe of power and the debasing influence of sensuality.
Political subjection to an effete despotism, and addiction to
opium, had enervated the national mind, and rendered the Chinese
helpless as a race.
"From themselves no reformer seemed likely to arise. Their
canonized virtue of filial piety was perverted and abused as the
grand support of despotism. But it is in this state of
perplexity and despondency that we turn to survey the present
movement, its chief actors, and its accomplished results; and
beholding we admire, and admiring we thank God for what our eyes
are privileged to see."
FOOTNOTES:
[4] This strong tendency of the Chinese to combine and organize is well
noticed in "Impressions of China," by Captain Fishbourne, at pages 415
to 418.
[5] Alluding to the establishment of the Tartar Budhism.
[6] The badge of slavery imposed by the Manchoo Tartars upon their
conquest of China.
[7] The form of head-dress and insignia of nobility introduced by the
Manchoos.
[8] Referring to the elaborate and merciless laws of treason and
disaffection established by the Manchoos.
[9] Wan-theen-seang would not submit to the Mongols, and was slain by
Kubla Khan.
[10] One of the adherents of the Sung dynasty, who, on being seized by
the Mongols, refused to eat, and so died.
[11] Killed himself when the Ming dynasty was irretrievably lost.
[12] Lost his life in fighting for the Ming cause (1644).
[13] "Allusion to an expression in the Book of Diagrams, under the Këen
diagram, or five and nine, where it is said that 'the dragon flies up to
heaven,' which means that a new monarch is about to ascend the throne of
China.--_Translator._"
[14] The Ti-pings.
[15] A mace is worth about 5_d._